SALISBURY — Access to a donated, 5-acre parcel of undeveloped land earmarked for 18 to 20 affordable housing units near Salisbury village will be the topic of discussion at two upcoming information sessions and a town meeting vote this summer.
The East Railroad Street land is being donated by adjoining property owner Jim Dresser to the Salisbury Housing Committee (SHC). Before the project can move forward with design work and Planning and Zoning permitting, SHC must first obtain access to the land over the old railroad corridor for a driveway adjacent to the Railroad Ramble trail, also known as the Rail Trail.
According to Peter Halle, co-president of the nonprofit SHC, in order to obtain necessary access, SHC must have a town meeting vote granting a right-of-way along the town-owned railroad corridor. The required distance is under 150 feet from the end of the pavement on East Railroad Street.
Halle explained that the housing committee cannot undertake developing an architectural site plan without pre-development funding from the state. And pre-development funding from the state, he said, cannot be obtained until access along the railroad corridor is granted.
“We have to get the access. What we’ve been working on and discussing is really awareness and how to best present this to voters in town.”
Information sessions, town meeting
The Salisbury Congregational Church has offered its facilities for the two information sessions and the town meeting while Town Hall is under renovation.
The information sessions are scheduled for Thursday, June 30, at 6 p.m., and Saturday, July 16, at 11 a.m.
The town meeting is set for Thursday, July 28, at 7:30 p.m.
Proponents of the project said they are confident that the public recognizes both the need for additional rental units in town as well as the merits of the site, which is tucked away in a forested area only 200 yards away from the bustling Salisbury village.
‘The Rail Trail
will remain’
Dresser, a longtime Salisbury resident and former selectman, recently met up with Halle at the East Railroad Street property, which is within a short distance and visible from his residence on nearby Academy Street.
A lone jogger on the Rail Trail sprinted by as the two affordable housing advocates led a reporter on a tour of the site.
“A lot of people have thanked me for the gift and have said this is such a good location and that we need the units,” noted Dresser, who unfurled a site map showing the area.
“The good news is, we will not use this road to access these units,” said Dresser as he stood at the point on Academy Street where his property ends and the donated land begins. Instead, access from Main Street would be via Library and Railroad Streets.
The traffic on Academy Street and the parking lot at LaBonne’s would not be affected, according to the SHC.
18 to 20 affordable rentals, similar to Sarum
Halle and Dresser said they are optimistic that the upcoming public hearing will not be a repeat of one that took place about seven years ago, when residents voted down a proposal by the Women’s Institute for Housing and Economic Development for a 30-unit housing complex on the site, due to fears about a significant encroachment on the Rail Trail.
This time around, the plan is scaled down. The SHC is proposing to build between 18 and 20 affordable rental units of one, two and three bedrooms on the site.
Pending professional input from an architectural firm, said Halle, it is likely that the units will be similar in appearance to those owned by SHC at Sarum Village on Cobble Road.
The Rail Trail will not be blocked by the proposed driveway, Halle said. The railroad corridor is 66 feet wide. The short stretch of land required for this project would occupy less than half that width, leaving more than 30 feet for the customary pedestrian bicycle use of the Rail Trail, he explained, as he measured the width using wide steps to demonstrate the ample space.
“The Rail Trail will definitely remain. We are hoping to enhance it, to beautify it with hedges and other plantings,” said Dresser. The 5-acre site has access to town water and sewer, and is secluded, despite being 200 yards from Salisbury Village.
According to SHC plans, a sturdy, landscaped barrier will ensure safe separation between motor vehicles on one side and walkers and bicyclists on the others.
A pro bono study by an architectural firm is producing renderings of what the access to the land will look like with the proposed driveway. These will be displayed at the information sessions.
Halle said the feedback he has received from the community so far has been mostly positive and barring a 51% “no” vote on July 28, he is cautiously optimistic that the project will earn the community’s support.
“We are realistic, we know there will be some sort of opposition, there always is.”
Dozens of people crowded into the courthouse at the Washington Town Hall on Reservoir Drive in Millbrook on Tuesday, Oct. 7, to watch a pre-application meeting between Planning Board members and representatives of Centaur Properties LLC. David Blatt and Henry Hay of Centaur Properties LLC described their plan to build an 18-hole golf course with limited membership and residences on the historic 2,000-acre Hitchcock estate.
"This is nothing like Silo Ridge," said Centaur Properties co-founder Henry Hay. "This is Buckingham Palace to a craphouse. It's completely different. It's much higher quality."
MILLBROOK — Dozens of residents of the Town of Washington packed into the courtroom in Town Hall on Reservoir Drive for a standing-room-only regular meeting of the Planning Board on Tuesday, Oct. 7.
Well over three-quarters of the crowd were there to listen in to a pre-application meeting between Planning Board members and representatives of Centaur Properties LLC, a New York City-based development company that’s proposing an 18-hole golf course, equestrian facilities and luxury residential development on the 2,000-acre Hitchcock estate.
A pre-application meeting, Planning Board Chair Susan Meaney explained before beginning the discussion, allows developers or anyone with a potential project to meet with the Planning Board and ask questions about the planning and zoning process prior to submitting an application.
“This is not a public hearing,” Meaney said. “That doesn’t mean that you can’t let your voices be heard. If you have opinions about what gets said here tonight or what the potential proposal might be you can certainly write letters to the Planning Board.”
Henry Hay and David Blatt are the men behind Centaur Properties’ proposal for the Hitchcock estate. Blatt began the discussion by expressing his and Hay’s desire to have an open dialogue with the community.
“It goes without saying this is an incredible piece of property — an incredibly large piece of property,” Blatt said. “It deserves a responsible and thoughtful steward and our hope is that we can bring that level of stewardship that the property deserves and the level of attention to detail and care that this property needs.”
Following was a description of the project centered around an 18-hole golf course that Blatt and Hay said was essential to the development.
“Our ideas on our project are to create a world class golf course, clubhouse — limited membership,” Blatt said.
Additionally, the developers expressed a desire to construct a spa, equestrian facilities, trails, housing and to conserve a portion of the estate.
Planning Board members then began a back-and-forth with the developers, asking the two men for more specific details about their proposal. One of Meaney’s first questions centered around private membership.
“We’re going to have a very, very small membership,” Hay said. “Maybe 300 people.”
That response prompted board member Nicole Drury to clarify if the proposal is more akin to a private golf club or a gated luxury housing development of the likes of the Discovery Land Company’s Silo Ridge Field Club in Amenia — a gated luxury subdivision in Amenia with an 18-hole golf course and other amenities.
“This is nothing like Silo Ridge,” Hay said in response. “This is Buckingham Palace to a craphouse. It’s completely different. It’s much higher quality.”
Later on in the meeting, Planning Board member Eric Alexander again drew comparisons between Centaur’s proposal and the nearby Silo Ridge Field Club in Amenia, which he called a “bad situation for that community.” He cited a perception of exclusivity within the luxury housing development that has put off the surrounding Amenia community.
But Hay wouldn’t elaborate on the distinctions between the Hitchcock estate proposal and Silo Ridge Field Club. "This is nothing like Silo Ridge," Hay maintained. "We don't want that."
Environmental conservation was central to the board members’ concerns, prompting conflicting responses from Blatt and Hay about the amount of open space that will be left after development.
“At least 50%,” Hay said before Blatt cut him off.
“I think 25 to 50% is kind of a good estimate,” Blatt said, correcting his colleague. “We would love to put aside as much as possible.”
The pre-application meeting ended shortly after input from the Planning Board’s attorney, Hannah Atkinson of Van DeWater & Van DeWater out of Poughkeepsie, and Meaney that not much more could be said about the proposal until something concrete has been submitted to the board.
“There’s a code so you can be working within the framework of what’s expected in these different zones,” Atkinson said of the town’s zoning code, and urged the developers to read the code and use it and the town’s comprehensive plan to guide them in designing the project. “You’re not going to be 180 degrees off what the board is expecting if you follow the provisions of the code.”
As of press time, the sale of the Hitchcock estate has not been finalized. The property was listed for sale in Summer 2024 for $75 million.
Built in 1820, 1168 Bangall Amenia Road sold for $875,000 on July 31 with the transfer recorded in August. It has a Millbrook post office and is located in the Webutuck school district.
STANFORD — The Town of Stanford with nine transfers in two months reached a median price in August of $573,000 for single family homes, still below Stanford’s all-time median high in August 2024 of $640,000.
At the beginning of October there is a large inventory of single-family homes listed for sale with only six of the 18 homes listed for below the median price of $573,000 and seven above $1 million.
July transfers
79 Ernest Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 6.87 acres in 2 parcels sold to Matthew C. Marinetti for $1,225,000.
29 Drake Road — 3 bedroom/3.5 bath home on 2 acres sold to Harper Montgomery for $850,000.
6042 Route 82 — 4 bedroom/2 bath home on 1.09 acres sold to Spencer Thompson for $795,000.
125 Tick Tock Way — 3 bedroom/2.5 bath ranch on 1.9 acres sold to Fleur Touchard for $475,000.
August transfers
102 Prospect Hill Road — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on 6.35 acres sold to Karl Creighton Pfister for $565,000.
252 Ernest Road — 2 bedroom/1 bath cottage on .85 acres sold to Meg Bumie for $465,000.
1196 Bangall Amenia Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 2.16 acres sold to Roderick Alleyne for $875,000.
Hunns Lake Road (#759929) — 59.1 acres of residential land sold to Argos Farm LLC for $3,325,000.
* Town of Stanford recorded real estate transfers from July 1 to August 31 provided by Dutchess County Real Property Office monthly transfer reports. Details on each property from Dutchess Parcel Access - properties with an # indicate location on Dutchess Parcel Access. Market data from One Key MLS and Infosparks .Compiled by Christine Bates, Real Estate Advisor with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, Licensed in Connecticut and New York.
Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office Harlem Valley area activity reportSept. 18 to Sept. 30.
Sept. 23 — Deputies responded to 1542 State Route 292 in the Town of Pawling for the report of a suspicious vehicle at that location. Investigation resulted in the arrest of Sebastian Quiroga, age 26, for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree. Quiroga to appear in the Town of Pawling court at a later date.
Sept. 30 — Deputies responded to Woodside Street in the Town of Pine Plains for a past-occurred verbal domestic dispute between a stepfather and stepson.Matter resolved without further police intervention.
PLEASE NOTE:All subjects arrested and charged are alleged to have committed the crime and are presumed innocent until proven guilty and are to appear in local courts later.
If you have any information relative to the aforementioned criminal cases, or any other suspected criminal activity please contact the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 845-605-CLUE (2583) or Emaildcsotips@gmail.com.All information will be kept confidential.
Hunt club members and friends gathered near Pugsley Hill at the historic Wethersfield Estate and Gardens in Amenia for the opening meet of the 2025-2026 Millbrook Hunt Club season on Saturday, Oct. 4. Foxhunters took off from Wethersfield’s hilltop gardens just after 8 a.m. for a hunting jaunt around Amenia’s countryside.
